Lunar dust is made up of small particles that can end up damaging space suits, machinery and equipment or, in the worst case, affecting astronauts’ lungs.
Now they have invented a new liquid nitrogen sprayspecifically, created by researchers at Washington State University, a kind of spray that can eliminate almost all the moon dust simulated special suit.
“Lunar dust is electrostatically charged, abrasive and gets everywhere, making it a very difficult substance to treat.“, Explain Ian Welles, first author and a senior in the WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. “You end up with a thin layer of dust at the very least covering everything”.
This team of researchers explained that their liquid nitrogen spray removes 98% of the moondust simulant in a vacuum environment and causes minimal damage to spacesuits.
NASA has the Artemis III lunar mission as its objective, to return the human being to the Moon, and this invention could be of great help to them.
The solution that NASA seeks for the return of the human being to the Moon
The researchers believe that their spray that uses the effect leidenfrost could end up providing the solution you are looking for POT.
This effect can be seen when cold water is poured into a hot pan and it pools and moves over the surface of the pan. When very cold liquid nitrogen is sprayed onto a warmer, dust-covered spacesuit, these dust particles collect and float with the nitrogen vapor.
However, the team of researchers tested this method in a vacuum to approximate the conditions of the Moon and found that it worked with 98% efficiency.